The girls basketball team lost to Penobscot Valley 57-33. We played well in the first half, trailing 8-7 after one, and only 25-18 at the half. Unfortunately, we got in foul trouble and lost our composure in the third, and PVHS was able to increase their lead. This is a disturbing pattern we need to overcome if we are to start winning. The postponements caused by the weather have made it hard on our execution. Allyson Eaton led us with 20 points and Morgan Shepard had 8.

The girls lost to Sumner 43-36. We played a stellar first quarter to lead 10-4 and really had Sumner on the run. We stretched the lead to 16-6, but foul trouble put Morgan Shepard and Allyson Eaton on the bench and Sumner dropped in a couple 3s and ended the quarter on a 14-0 run to lead 20-16 at the half.

In the third quarter we succumbed to their press with multiple turnovers. Many were mental errors but Sumner was able to extend their lead, and we weren’t getting shot opportunities. We came alive about halfway through the fourth quarter and got it close, but we couldn’t overcome the deficit. When we put the pressure on Sumner, we caused a lot of turnovers, but we couldn’t do it for the whole game. Allyson Eaton led us with 19 points, Morgan Shepard 7, and Logan Eaton 6.

The boys basketball team lost to a tall George Stevens team 61-49. We came out a little flat, and GSA took a 14 -8 lead after one quarter and stretched that to 28-14 at the half. We got our composure back in the second half and played them evenly after that. We made a couple runs but GSA was able to pull back ahead. When we got near the end of the game, we had to foul and they shot well enough from the line to preserve their win.

We saw what we needed to do and if we had played all 32 minutes with that intensity, it might have been different. We had balanced scoring with Jared Gove 15 points, Krisford Melanio 12 points, Stuart Bray 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Lucas Oliver 8 points and 11 rebounds.

The boys beat Penobscot Valley 57-30. This was similar to the first time we played them as we started a bit slow, leading 10-9 after the first quarter. We took command to lead 27-12 at the half and stretched the lead from there. Everyone got playing time and we outplayed PVHS in the second half. This was another game where we didn’t start with a lot of energy and focus, but we got away with it since PVHS is not a strong team. Stuart Bray led us with 18 points and 10 rebounds, Jared Gove 10 points, Andy Turner 8, Lucas Oliver 7 points and 8 rebounds, and Ethan Shepard 6 points.

The boys lost their rematch with Sumner 65-50. We didn’t start with the same focus we did in our first game, and Sumner was definitely ready for us this time. We trailed 37-18 at the half and came alive in the third quarter to reduce the deficit to 13 points after three quarters. We got as close as 6 points in the fourth quarter, but then we had a couple turnovers and had to foul. Sumner shot well at the end of the game to preserve their win.

Hopefully this will serve as a good lesson for this team. We have a good chance to beat anybody when we come ready to play, but we can’t get overconfident and lose our focus, especially in the beginning of a game. Jared Gove led us with 20 points, Lucas Oliver 10, Krisford Melanio 7, Stuart Bray 7 points and 10 rebounds, and Ethan Shepard 4 points.

The girls are 1-5, so there still is a lot of schedule ahead of us. We’ve shown some quarters of good play when we can keep our energy and focus. If we can find a way to maintain that for four quarters, we can start winning games. Having so many games cancelled has not allowed us to maintain game speed, but that will change quickly. We have the talent to do well, so now we just have to do it in the busy weeks ahead.

The boys are 4-3 and have several big games ahead. We have had success when we start with the same energy as we finish and stick with the game plan. We showed this in the first game with Sumner. Now we have to maintain that momentum into the busy schedule ahead to establish ourselves. Once again, we get no mention in the Class D discussion in the Bangor Daily. If that isn’t enough motivation for us to work hard, I don’t know what is.